CATConsulting
Cluj-Napoca, 1 November 2003
10 years
NMCP-CAT Co-operation
In the Spring
2004 we’ll celebrate 10 years of successful co-operation between NMCP and
CAT-Transilvania Business Center http://e-cat.ro. It is a viable partnership example within transition
period:
- how two organization
can innovate, develop and implement new tools and relations in the benefit
of the companies and local communities;
- how to accelerate the
privatization and integration into the EU structure of the SMEs;
- how to promote the entrepreneurial
and partnership spirit;
- how to improve the performances
and skills of Romanian managers;
- how to involve the young
generation into the decentralized, flexible and new economy;
- how to transfer the
Dutch experience and Know How to the Romanian partners;
- how to develop the trade and co-operation between
Romania and Netherlands.
The
existing replies to these key questions, represents for CAT and NMCP a Knowledge
Common Warehouse, unique in the European and international practice, as well
in the development of the co-operation between our countries - Netherlands
and Romania - in the context of the EU Enlargement.
Over
300 projects for consulting, training, business links… have been implemented
together. This successful story was the result of: the DIRECT help and experience
of the NMCP specialists granted to the Romanian companies; the well organized
infrastructure offered by CAT at the levels of local and business communities,
together with the excellent NMCP logistics and experts’ selection; the intelligent
permanent updated common strategy designed together by Mr. Wiet Van Bosbeek
and Prof.Dr. Radu-Adrian Mlesnita.
Important
common innovative concepts, methods, tools were tested and implemented during
last years, concerning:
- decentralization
and flexibilization of the activities
(such as: identification and promotion of the projects and missions) and
increase of the local representatives’ number (for example: Transilvania
was divided in two sub-regions and one of the best CAT staff – Amalia -
trained 2 years in NMCP affairs, took with success the management of the
NMCP projects in South Transilvania. The concept was extended to other regions
of Romania).
- modernization of NMCP and CAT activities by implementation of
the new ICT – Information Communication Technologies. CAT designed in 1996
the first NMCP site with on line Application Form and promoted over Romania and the world http://e-cat.ro/nmcp.html. CAT is considered
the first Business Center in the post-communist East European space and the first Virtual Center in Europe. With the help and good ideas of NMCP experts there were strengthen the
new mechanisms created by CAT after 1992, such as: Banca Transilvania http://www.bancatransilvania.ro,
Transilvania Commodities Exchange http://e-bursa.ro,
Banca Napoca, ASTRAL TELECOM http://www.astral.ro,
BRINEL Computers http://www.brinel.ro
and many, many other companies. All of them were assisted by NMCP experts,
as CAT’s associated companies to the regional development programs or just
for their own benefit.
- promotion and acquisition
new methods were developed and
improved, starting with mass media relations and concentrating more on the
direct contacts, direct mail, e-mail, participation to trade fairs and workshops,
field missions. Every year CAT printed in Romanian the NMCP offer and disseminated
during the events (there were participations to over 100 important
local and regional events and 15 European and international reunions), as
well as during the biannual acquisition missions (there were 16 successful
missions organized by CAT in over 65 cities, towns and communes).
- missions/projects preparation was CAT priority and a careful selection of the towns and people to
be contacted was realized. New improvements were introduced in the last
period by informing in advanced and directly the NMCP experts about the
changes into the Romanian framework: financing sources, legislation, local
resource …
- missions/projects surveyance and evidence was computer-web based organized, with: (1) daily
mobile e-management style reports (both Prof.Dr. Mlesnita and his young
collaborators in the field are communicating through mobile phones and new
IT: special webmail and voice-video messenger hosted by CAT Server); (2)
monthly reports presented to Mr. Bosbeek and Ros for maintaining an operative
co-ordination of actions, serving the experts in the field and avoiding
inprevisible events. The beneficiary companies and the local authorities
were monitories by us and a direct contact with the experts was maintained
were it was possible, but without disturbing their job and the confidentiality
of their discussions with the assisted companies.
- young spirit join-experienced experts, represents one of the secrets of the success.
NMCP concepts, procedures and activities were introduced in the learning
programme of the most important East-European University “Babes-Bolyai” http://www.ubbcluj.ro
- Faculty for European Studies, by Prof.Dr. Radu-Adrian Mlesnita. Last year
lectures and seminars trained 156 students from Romania and Moldavia in NMCP affairs. This year other 140 students
are learning and disseminate their knowledge and NMCP offer in Transilvania.
A good example represents Simona (a last year graduate) who made the preparations
and translation for 6 NMCP experts in Satu Mare County (160 km from Cluj-Napoca), where we have been faced with communication difficulties (not to
many agriculture managers know English and PC operations). Both Romanian
Managers and Dutch experts appreciated this decision taken by the local
representative.
- permanent attention
of the local and national authorities, even it was not so important, CAT involved for
the support of NMCP missions: prefects and council presidents of 6 counties,
over 60 mayors of towns and communes, ministers of the previous and actual
government (for example the ministers for EU integration, Cooperation-and-SMES,
Tourism…), members of parliament and influent local personalities (such
as: presidents of banks and large companies, rectors and academicians, presidents
of chambers of commerce and owners associations, media directors…).
- power of good CAT-NMCP
practice was presented by CAT
in the trans-european projects for acceleration of the integration of the
region and Romania into the EU structures, and where CAT was consortium
partner together with organizations from the European Union - IST-Program
(such as: ViVa, ENERGIA, LIRIC, TexMap…).
- use of founds received
from NMCP was also something
specific because all of them were
received by CAT and Prof. Dr. Mlesnita directed them for: the promotion
of the NMCP-CAT and Romanian-Netherlands direct co-operation, investments
in communication and IT, training of young collaborators in NMCP procedures,
some expenditures with experts and missions.
There are
only few of the ideas or the “top of the iceberg”, because 10 years intensive
activity, over 300 realized projects and many direct and indirect effects
known better by the Dutch experts, means something extraordinary. Nobody can
contest them and they are now in the history of the relations between two
organizations and two countries. Most of all, these valuable results remained
in the conscience of thousands of people: the Romanian beneficiaries and the
Dutch experts.
As a specialist
in international relations - with 25 years experience and one who was trained
in Netherlands, associated expert of some of the world organizations such
as UNIDO, European Commission … and participant-designer to important Romanian
reform-integration measures, I consider NMCP one of the most important co-operation
organizations with a direct and succesful contribution for the creation
of a new Europe and a better world.
Because it
is time for a change, I take this opportunity to make the fallowing proposals:
1 - To continue the process of decentralization
and flexibilization of NMCP assistance in Romania and especially in Transilvania region (from two sub-regions
to 12 county representations). The actual m-CAT (mobile Transilvania Business Center with m-staff operating anywhere-anytime) is a good
example-infrastructure and brought a new spirit into the direct relations
with NMCP.
2 – To promote
the “young-with-experienced” spirit and to join the experienced NMCP consultants
with the young Romanians, for the success of the future missions/projects
in consulting, training, business links…
2 - Mr. Wiet Van Bosbeek and Prof.Dr. Radu-Adrian
Mlesnita to be awarded by both organizations, as well by the Romanian and
Netherlands authorities for their 10 years efforts and results concerning
the development of the relations between our countries and for their direct
contribution to the acceleration of the transition and integration into the
Enlarged European Union.
Prof.Dr.
Radu-Adrian Mlesnita
http://e-cat.ro/radu.html
